Wantagh brothers bring socially relevant dance extravaganza off-Broadway

There is no question that theater has the potential to inspire social change; however, it’s not every production that aims to do just that. Wantagh natives Mark Stuart and Jeffrey Eckstein seek to bring out the best in people and inspire conversation with the powerful dance extravaganza “Standard Time,” which opens off Broadway at the Duke Theatre on Nov. 15.
Through movement alone, “Standard Time” follows three separate, period-specific love stories set against the backdrop of the Great Depression, the Civil Rights era, and today’s quickly advancing attitudes towards gay rights. The show features twelve dancers, four vocalists, and a seven-piece orchestra.
“The idea was that everyone, no matter what age or generation, has been impacted by some form of prejudice,” says Associate Producer Eckstein.
“It’s about trying to bring out the best in people. It always leaves viewers with the questions of, ‘Why does it have to be like this?’ and ‘How do we get past what has already happened?’ It’s something that was very important to [creator, director, and choreographer] Mark, and something that’s very validated in hearing people’s responses to the show. Everybody is connected to some form of what we’re talking about in it, and it really drives it home for them. That’s exactly what the point was in making it.”
Eckstein’s brother, Mark Stuart (nee Eckstein), is a Broadway choreographer, and created the Mark Stuart Dance Theatre to express the physical and emotional rawness of human relationships through a bold and explosive blend of dance movement, with a discussion about social injustice. Stuart asked himself, “Can we do better as a society if we get past all prejudices?”

To help answer this question, he enlisted a company that includes Broadway performers from “Finding Neverland,” “Wicked” and “The Lion King,” resulting in an experience that is overflowing with talent. “Standard Time” went through a few workshops in New York before seeing its world premiere — with sold-out theaters — in 2013 in Lancaster and Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Eckstein and Stuart never lost sight of their goal — bringing the show to Broadway.
Nevertheless, New York theater is a relatively new dream for the brothers, who are graduates of Beech Street Elementary and Wantagh Middle and High School. Eckstein, who is also an orchestral/opera/ballet conductor, was involved with the theater program in grade school, but only as a musician. After playing piano in elementary school productions, he took it up again in high school when he played for “The Sound of Music” (he is a 1994 graduate; Mark is a 1997 alum). He remembers enjoying music and theater as a hobby, but spending a lot of free time with Mark riding their bikes up and down Jerusalem Avenue, and visiting the now defunct Cherrywood Pizza with a friend on lunch breaks.
Some folks might remember him from his gig at United Skates of America, where he was a DJ at the age of 16. Even after leaving Wantagh for SUNY Binghamton, he still worked opposite the infamous skating dinosaur as a manager there on college breaks.
Eckstein’s passion for music never waned, and he went on to conduct The Austin Symphony for 13 years. Most recently he did a concert there with Andy Hammerstein. Stuart’s choreography credits are miles long, ranging from a Revlon commercial with Olivia Wilde, to an exclusive performance for Madonna, and a credit as assistant choreographer for Broadway’s “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.” “Standard Time” will not be the only project he has running come November; Stuart also assisted Choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler with Broadway’s “Hamilton” and Paper Mill Playhouse’s “The Bandstand.”
Eckstein credits the brothers’ childhood on Long Island as being a large factor in the development of their creative side. “Growing up here there was so much culture because we had access to Broadway, Lincoln Center, Hofstra, the Tilles Center,” he says nostalgically. “All of the high quality musicians and culture that people are accustomed to on Long Island really gives you a sense of creativity. It certainly has helped my and Mark’s musicality.”
He doesn’t get back to Wantagh often these days, but his parents still live there. “It’s a huge advantage to grow up where we did,” he says.
Now their own show will be adding to the artistic the region’s artistic dialogue. After the owners of the Duke Theatre caught the most recent performances of “Standard Time” in Lancaster, they insisted the show be brought to their own theater in New York. “They basically said it was absolutely unlike anything else that was out there,” says Eckstein. “Now to actually be able to start the New York journey is an amazing experience!”
To see Standard Time at the Duke Theatre, visit www.dukeon42.org. For more information about Mark Stuart Dance Theatre, visit www.msdt-standardtime.org.